Warrior Princess; Her Quest to the throne

Mriga felt a slow building of excitement deep inside her bones. In the past five years of her schooling, never had she felt so sure about something as she did about this opportunity. At a loss of words, she bowed her head as a sign of respect and gratitude.     

"Good, its settled then. I want you to go back to your room and rest for today. Your teammates will be told that you have failed the training and have been asked to leave the department. I need you to report at the sports ground sharp at 4 am. You will train hard for two hours before reporting for your regular school routine. Also, you will come and study with me post 8 pm, immediately after the dinnertime. At 10 pm, you will go back to the dorm and sleep. I must warn you that during this semester, your life will revolve around keeping up the appearance of normalcy and maintaining a distance from all your peers and friends. No one should be curious about your whereabouts or your activities. Understood?" he spoke in a crisp, unyielding voice.     

Mriga finally found her voice and replied with conviction, "I will not disappoint you, Guruji."     

"Do you have any doubts or questions?" he asked her.     

Though she had told herself that she would seek all answers herself, there was something that was bothering her. Hesitatingly, she nodded her head.     

At his encouraging look, she said, "I understand that I need to keep my tasks and training hidden from rest of the classmates but why do you have to tell my fellow interns from the Admin team that I have been thrown out of the program?"     

What she didn't say out loud was the fact that they didn't hold her in high esteem already and this would probably validate whatever they had been saying about her, especially, Abhirath.     

Prithvi looked at her intently and replied, "even if all of you are selected to become a part of this network at the end of your training, we would not want any of you to know about the others' roles or profiles unless you are working in the same team. Everything about this world is on a need to know basis. The lesser you know, the safer you are."     

Mriga was surprised at the logic behind the decision. Nodding her head, she conveyed her understanding of the same.     

She left the Admin building post that and went back to the dormitory. Her mind was busy absorbing all the instructions and the plan which she needed to come up with, for the challenge ahead.     

After Mriga's departure, Prithvi picked up the missive again, which Shaurya had sent about all five trainees.     

As per him, Abhirath had probably received some form of training from his parents in his formative years. In the tasks, he was unquestionably the best out of the lot. He could be a good team leader eventually as long as he worked upon correcting his attitude and work towards becoming a team player.     

Shaurya had discovered a pact between Chiranjeev & Nirbhay who had developed a strategy to suit their purpose of completing the tasks. His recommendation was to train them for the coding & strategising team. They had the right skills and aptitude for it.     

Vandit seemed to be the weakest link but he had a big heart. His perseverance and mild temperament could be his assets but he still needed to be tested on his physical strength.     

Shaurya had the most to write about Mrignayani and surprisingly, there were contradictory remarks made under each attribute, which is why Prithvi had chosen this path for her – active field operation.     

A little while later, Saraswati walked in to the semi-dark room with a questioning look on her face.     

"Don't give me that look. I haven't sent the girl to fight the war," Prithvi said wryly, playing with the multicoloured bangles on his wrist, as was his habit.     

"I just want to remind you that she is not Shaurya. I know that you recruited him and gave him the same responsibility at this age, but his circumstances and level of maturity were way beyond his age. I don't think that she is ready for all this yet. She may crumble under the merciless pressure that you will be laying on her, henceforth. Her entire lifestyle will undergo a change. Shaurya was a loner and didn't have anyone whom he was particularly close to but she is the kind of person who is born to make friends with whosoever that she meets. She probably doesn't realise right now as to what all will she have to give up in the near future, for walking on this path," she said with something akin to accusation in her voice.     

During the interactions with the trainees, Saraswati had unexpectedly developed a soft corner for the girl. Always present with a friendly smile, she had the knack of making people like her.     

With a cryptic smile on his face, Prithvi got up and started pacing.     

"I agree with you on all counts. But what you don't know is that she has something in common with Shaurya, which the others don't," he paused mysteriously.     

When Saraswati didn't take the bait of asking him to elaborate upon his remark, he gave her a reproachful look and continued, "she has the ability to think beyond the drawn lines. As per Shaurya's feedback, she has the knack to become one with the problem and then look for solutions. This quality of hers will make her take on tasks above and beyond her capability. She has the potential to grow into a good spy and I intend to make her one."     

Saraswati gave him an unconvinced look but walked out of the room without another word.     

"A really, really good spy, probably, as good as her mother," he mused.